Automatic identification systems, such as asset management and security systems, are becoming increasingly important in the workplace of today. Automatic identification systems refer to a host of technologies used to assist machines in identifying objects, such as assets and people. Automatic identification is typically coupled with data capture. In other words, companies want to identify items, capture information about the objects, and somehow get the data into a computer without having employees type it in, thereby increasing efficiency, reducing data entry errors, and freeing up staff to perform more value-added functions. Automatic identification systems are important for a number of reasons, including to combat rising levels of theft, reduce inventory control costs in manufacturing and/or retail and wholesale businesses, and combat increasing threats of terrorism. There are a number of technologies falling under the automatic identification umbrella, including bar codes, smart cards, voice recognition technologies, biometric technologies (such as retina scans), optical character recognition technologies, Radio Frequency IDentification or RFID systems, magneto-acoustic systems, and other technologies.
RFID, in particular, is gaining wide acceptance as a highly effective and inexpensive automatic identification methodology. RFID is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to identify automatically objects. Passive and active RFID transponders or tags contain coiled antennas to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID reader or transceiver (which also includes an antenna). The transceiver converts the radio waves returned from the RFID tag into a form that can be passed onto computers. Typically, a serial number that identifies a product uniquely, and sometimes other information, is stored on the RFID tag (which can store up to 2 KB of data). Passive RFID tags do not have a power supply. A minute electrical current induced in an antenna by the incoming radio-frequency scan provides enough power for the tag to send a response. Active RFID tags have an on-board power source and may have longer ranges and larger memories than passive tags and the ability to store additional information sent by the transceiver. Semi-passive RFID tags use an on-board power source to run the tag's circuitry but communicate by drawing power from the transceiver. Chips in RFID tags can be read-write or read-only.
Automatic identification systems can have disadvantages. For example, they typically require either movement of equipment or people past scanners (e.g., palettes leaving a warehouse or airline passengers moving past a magnetic detector) or employees around a facility to verify manually that the data matches the records (e.g., stock takes). For equipment that is on the floor, under desks, behind monitors, and the like, these techniques can be difficult and require personnel to collect physically the desired information. Use of manual scanners are also slow and practically impossible to maintain current asset location information. Moreover, Local Area Networks or LAN's for automatic identification systems are not widely used due to the high cost and installation expenses of the cabling necessary to support the LAN.
Tools, such as Avaya Inc.'s ExpertNet Discovery Tool™ or EDT have been used to identify automatically networked equipment on telecommunication devices, such as routers, switches, and Private Branch Exchanges or PBX's. They use networking protocols and concepts, such as the Simple Network Management Protocol or SNMP, to identify the devices. Such tools, however, are unable to distinguish between stolen or malfunctioning equipment, to monitor items that do not support the networking protocols used, and peripherals, such as computer monitors, keyboards, and printers, that are not connected directly to the network. They also fail to provide accurate location information about the device.